Targeting and Plasticity of Mitochondrial Proteins Revealed by Proximity-Specific Ribosome Profiling

Nearly all mitochondrial proteins are nuclear-encoded and are targeted to their mitochondrial destination from the cytosol. Here, we used proximity-specific ribosome profiling to comprehensively measure translation at the mitochondrial surface in yeast. The majority of inner membrane proteins were co-translationally targeted to mitochondria, reminiscent of proteins entering the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Comparison between mitochondrial and ER localization demonstrated that the vast majority of proteins were targeted to a specific organelle. A prominent exception was the fumarate reductase Osm1, known to reside in mitochondria. We identified a conserved ER isoform of Osm1, which contributes to the oxidative protein folding capacity of the organelle. This dual localization was enabled by alternative translation initiation sites encoding distinct targeting signals. These findings highlight the exquisite in vivo specificity of organellar targeting mechanisms. Ribosome profiling of whole cell or streptavidin-purified ribosomes biotinylated by cytosolic, ER or mitochondrially localized biotin ligase in yeast and mammalian cells